Cassiopeia
Discover amazing facts about Cassiopeia, the distinctive W-shaped constellation that represents a vain queen from Greek mythology
Cassiopeia forms a distinctive W or M shape that's easy to spot in the northern sky
Cassiopeia is one of the easiest constellations to find because it looks exactly like the letter "W" written across the sky! This distinctive constellation is made up of five bright stars that form a perfect zigzag pattern, making it super recognizable even for beginning stargazers. Sometimes Cassiopeia appears as an "M" instead of a "W," depending on the time of night and season you're looking at it. The constellation represents a vain queen from Greek mythology who boasted that she and her daughter were more beautiful than the sea nymphs.
Cassiopeia is what astronomers call a "circumpolar" constellation, which means it never sets below the horizon when viewed from most northern locations. You can see Cassiopeia every single night of the year! It sits on the opposite side of Polaris (the North Star) from the Big Dipper, so when the Big Dipper is low in the sky, Cassiopeia is high up, and vice versa. This makes Cassiopeia a great backup constellation for finding the North Star when the Big Dipper might be hidden behind trees or buildings.
